A VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal satellite network for Visa International is in the start-up phase of operation, having connected up nine banks in four countries, the France Cables et Radio subsidiary of France Telecom and Visa have announced. In a five-year contract, France Cables was chosen to plan, deploy and operate the network, based on its International Networks and Services offering, Irisat. The banks – in Hungary, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – have been equipped with micro-stations with 1.8-meter-diameter parabolic antennae enabling bi-directional communication between equipped sites. The network enables the Visa Europe/Middle East/Asia processing centre in Basingstoke, UK to use Eutelsat and Intelsat satellites, which connect the equipped banks to Basingstoke via France Telecom’s two master stations in Rambouillet and Bercenay-en-Othe. In the next year, Visa expects the service to bring its 85 member banks in over 30 countries in its Europe-Middle East-Africa region better network availability and increased performance. France Telecom claims that the banks have already seen a reduction in processing time, enjoyed network availability of 99.5%, and an increase in commercial transactions with connected countries.